How do we process food scraps to make compost?

At the NYC Compost Project Hosted by Big Reuse we put a lot of effort into building support for compost locally by hosting food scrap drop-offs and composting scraps at our site beneath the Queensboro Bridge. Here is a brief run down of how we transform food scraps into high quality compost to help rebuild our city’s soil!

Food scraps collected from local farmers markets and our commuter composting program are emptied from Toters into a dual auger mixing tub.

After adding in about equal parts wood chips and leaf matter, we spread out the mixture next to our aerated static pile.

We then use a skid steer to pile the compost up into a bread loaf shaped pile, called a windrow.

The compost is then covered with a Gore cover. Temperature and oxygen probes allow a computer to monitor the pile, adjusting the frequency of forced air blown through it. This ensures that the microorganisms have ideal conditions for feasting on food scraps.

Next week, we’ll be back at it! We peel back the cover and add a new layer of compost to the front of the pile!